I stayed at Samaya Bura for one month whilst doing a fasting cleanse at the SpaSamui resort next door. When I arrived and discovered that the hotel was right on a very busy and very noisy main artery road that circles the entire island of Koh Samui I was quite dismayed to say the least. But, to be fair, if you want to stay at a hotel by the beach in Lamai you really can't escape the traffic noise... you just have to find ways of blotting it out!
The room I was initially allocated smelt of damp and had an air conditioning vent that rattled super loudly. I asked to move and the hotel receptionist (Pat) was really helpful and showed me various rooms... the options were rooms that smelt of damp (there were quite a few of those); rooms that faced the road and so were so loud that I would have struggled to sleep at night (definitely choose a room that faces the beach); or a Honeymoon suite (at the same price of a 3000 baht a night) which did not have a damp problem but, as I soon discovered once I had moved in, did have a serious ant invasion issue. As I'm not particularly adverse to ants I decided to just live with it. I never mentioned the ant problem to the hotel staff as I guessed that if I did they'd fumigate my room with harsh chemicals and I preferred ants to that.
The rooms at the hotel (and I think I'm quite an authority on them now as I got to inspect quite a few!) are all pretty basic, not particularly clean but decent enough. Although I should mention that when I checked in my sheets did have blood on them. I was fascinated to see how long it would take the cleaning staff to change the sheets so I didn't complain about it... 7 days later the sheets were finally changed! So, if cleanliness is top of your priorities this hotel is not for you. Everything is a bit dusty and a bit sticky.
The walls between the rooms are also really, really thin. I could literally hear every word and every chair scrape from my neighbours next door and above. So again, if peace and quiet is what you're after then this hotel probably is not for you. I had to put my ear plugs in every night and even then was often woken up by guests getting back after a late night out.
On the positive side, the wifi works well, the staff are very friendly and helpful and the hotel does have a gorgeous garden, a really lovely pool and the deck chair area facing the sea is absolutely stunning! Be warned though that here's only a tiny patch of sand. Please also note that after 3 weeks of staying at the hotel I met two friends from London and invited them to Samaya Bura to sit on the deck chairs, have a coconut and watch the sea. Perfectly reasonable, I thought, given the fact that my guests were all having drinks and it was at a time of day when there was only one other guest on the chairs, so there were several deck chairs empty should other guests arrive. I was however later informed by the receptionist that one of the bar staff had complained to the manager because I had used 2 of the hotel towels for my guests (which I of course returned to them after use). I couldn't believe that after staying there for that length of time they would be so petty! It seemed totally ridiculous to me to get upset over the frayed tatty brown towels they give to guests using the pool.
Having spent so much time at Lamai I managed to check out quite a few other hotels and... if money is not really a problem, I would recommend staying at the incredible Tamarind Spring Villas (so quiet and peaceful and with natural waterfalls on the grounds, amazing! But, you are not on the beach); or if you're on a budget try The Grand Manita or just Manita... they are both 1,000 - 2,000 Baht cheaper than Samaya Bura and cleaner and more quiet.
Food wise, I only had the misfortune of eating at Samaya Bura once... I would never want to repeat the experience! The food is of low quality and my salmon looked like it had been microwaved! I ate the fabulous food at SpaSamui daily or at the wonderful Art Cafe. Both have really delicious options... especially the raw almond cookies and raw chocolate cake at The Art Cafe!
In summary, if you're looking for a basic hotel, aren't really that fussed about cleanliness or noise and are happy to eat out, then this hotel will suit you just fine.
Melanie J (6 รีวิว)